On 17 May 2014 the Armenian newspaper ‘Iravunk’ published
an article on its website entitled “They serve the interests of
international homo-addiction [sic] lobbying: the blacklist of the
country’s and nation’s enemies”. It attacked “homosexual lobbyists”
for trying to “aggressively enforce their moral dogma on our country”. Demanding
“zero tolerance”, it identified 60 people, calling for them to be
ostracised, denied employment and access to the media, and excluded
from participation “in the upbringing of younger generations”.

The chair of the ‘Iravunk’ board, Hayk Babukhanyan, is an
MP for Armenia’s governing political faction, the Republican Party.

The authorities have failed to condemn this incitement to
hatred and discrimination. On the contrary, on 25 October Mr Babukhanyan
was awarded a medal of honour by the President of Armenia. A law
suit against “Iravunk” for defamation was dismissed six days later.

We call upon:

Armenia’s
delegates to this Assembly, particularly those from the Republican
Party, to impress upon colleagues the need to refrain from incitement
to hatred and discrimination;

The Armenian authorities to condemn such incitement unreservedly
and to put in place measures to implement the Committee of Ministers
Recommendation on combating discrimination on grounds of sexual
orientation or gender identity.